The Maryland Tuition Waiver for Foster Care Recipients is available to foster care youth who are enrolled as a candidate for an associate, bachelor’s degree
or vocational certificate at a Maryland Public institution of higher education. The purpose of Tuition Waiver for Foster Care Recipients is to provide financial assistance to foster care youth.

QUALIFICATIONS

To be eligible for the Maryland Tuition Waiver for Foster Care Recipients program, a youth must have:

Been placed in out of home placement by the Maryland Department of Human Resources and either;

Resided in an out of home placement in Maryland at the time he or she graduated from high school or successfully completed a general equivalency examination; or

Resided in an out of home placement on his or her 13th birthday, and was placed into guardianship or adopted out of an out of home placement after his or her 13th birthday; or

Be the younger sibling of a child who meets the qualifications stated in either A. or B. above and was placed into guardianship or adopted concurrently out of an out of home placement by the same guardianship or adoptive family.

AWARD
AMOUNT

The tuition waiver provides exemption from paying
any tuition and mandatory fees at a Maryland public institution of higher education

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

The youth must:

Complete and file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by
March 1st of each year.

Be enrolled on or before he or she reaches the age of 25.

The youth continues to be exempt from paying tuition and fees until 5
years after first enrolling as a candidate for an
associate, bachelors, or a vocational certificate at a
Maryland public institution of higher education.

Be enrolled full time or part time for an associate, bachelors, or a
vocational certificate at a Maryland public institution
of higher education

Students are eligible to receive the Foster Care Tuition Waiver for the
following semesters:
A. Fall
B. Winter
C. Spring
D. Summer

AWARD AMOUNT

You are exempt from paying tuition and mandatory fees at a
public college in Maryland. The tuition waiver only applies
to tuition and fees. If a foster care
recipient receives a scholarship or grant, the scholarship
or grant may not
be applied to the tuition for the foster care recipient.

Tuition is determined by the individual public institution
of higher education and includes cost for tuition,
registration fees as well as all fees that are required as a
condition of enrollment. Tuition does not include room,
board, books, and transportation.

RENEWING AN AWARD

You must file the FAFSA by March 1 each yearto receive the
waiver for up to an additional four years or
until your Bachelors degree is awarded, whichever occurs
first. You must maintain the satisfactory academic progress
standards of the institution you will attend and remain enrolled
in an eligible program.